The Impact of Service Robot Communication Style on Consumers’ Continued Willingness to Use

Abstract

Integrating service robots has transformed service interactions, with their communication behaviors crucial in consumer engagement and satisfaction. Yet, the influence of their communication styles on consumer attitudes and behaviors is understudied. Utilizing the SOR theory, this study investigates how the communication styles of service robots (social-oriented vs. task-oriented) affect consumer willingness for continued use, through situational experiments and questionnaires. The study finds that service robots with a social-oriented communication style are more likely to enhance consumer willingness to continue usage, with positive emotions mediating this relationship. Additionally, the service context moderates the impact of communication style on these positive emotions. This study expands the application of communication style effects to human-robot interactions, offering new insights into service robots’ design and effective communication.